Melbourne Food & Wine Festival

The Melbourne Food & Wine Festival is an annual 10 day festival that happens every year in March for more than 20 years since 1993. Each year, thousands of visitors come out to experience more than 200 events throughout the various locations throughout Melbourne’s restaurants, streets, laneways and even throughout the region. There is something for everyone, every taste, style, and location around Melbourne and surrounds. Tickets are on sale now, so prepare in advance and get ready for a deliciously amazing time! Pay close attention to what events have separate tickets. Read on to find highlights for the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival.

Are You Game? At the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival Photo Credit: MelbourneFoodandWine.com.au

As you can see, hiring a car in Melbourne is easy and convenient because there are so many choices of Budget rental locations throughout greater Melbourne and surrounds. There are also quite a few places to hire a vehicle throughout Victoria for the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival’s various regional events. Whether you are staying within the city streets or heading off into the countryside or mountains, we have the right vehicle for you. Be sure to tell your Budget agent your travel plans so that they can set you up with the right vehicle to keep you safe and moving along throughout your holiday plans. Depending on where you are coming from or want to go, you can hire a car in Geelong or hire a car on Mornington Peninsula. You can also rent a car direct from the Melbourne Airport, which is very convenient if you are flying into Melbourne. Hurry and click through any of the links to get a quick and easy rate quote to reserve your car hire online.

A big part of the festival is the tradition of the World’s Longest Lunch. This tradition started back in 1993 at the first Melbourne Food & Wine Festival and has grown exponentially since. Last year, the festival saw 23 world’s longest lunches stages all over Victoria. The longest lunches celebrate people coming together to enjoy a meal and be together. Each World’s Longest Lunch features a partnership with amazing chefs who have the skills to prepare and serve a delectable and locally sourced menu. The Melbourne Wine & Food Festival is so popular, there are even some year-round events throughout Victoria.

This event celebrates Australia’s dining farm to table culture and the farmers themselves. Small-scale farmer Steve Hook will tell his story first hand after the film about him and the real challenges that face organic farmers around the world.

Each year, the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival has a hub. The 2016 Festival Hub pays tribute to all things dairy. In Queensbridge Square, and urban dairy will be built. On display will be a feast of cheese. In addition, local and worldwide yoghurt and ice-cream makers will be producing their signature items. For the entire 10 days of the festival, this will be the home base of the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival, so stop by often to taste, connect, or relax at the Urban Dairy.

Throughout the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival there are 8 different masterclasses that take place at Deakin Edge in Melbourne. Each masterclass is $29 or you can purchase a MasterClass Day Pass and create your own one-day itinerary by mixing and matching different food and wine sessions. The MasterClass Day Pass includes morning tea, three course lunch by Tommy Collins in the Secret Garden, and high tea at Taxi Riverside. As part of the MasterClass Day Pass, you can also journey through the city by boat to exclusive tastings, printed recipes, and reserve front-row seating. ‘With each masterclass, you can get hands on training in a small group setting and learn how to create a three course menu.

This is another type of food & wine class where you can learn how to match food and wine. Matt Skinner and some of Australia’s best chefs will share how to pair up some of their favourite wines with delicious foods.

Art and Sole is a wandering feast that includes 5 contemporary courses paired with wines from Saint Crispin at the Johnston Collection in East Melbourne. Guests will enjoy the art of the Georgian and Regency interiors of the Fairhall House Museum.

An Appreciation of Smallgoods takes guests to Uncle’s Smallgoods in Dandenong where they have been making smallgoods for over 20 years. Their head maker will demonstrate preparation techniques while guests enjoy tastings, get a tour of the factory, participate in a Q & A session, and sample delicacies prepared using the smallgoods. All guests get a sample pack to take home and a $10 voucher to spend at Uncle’s Deli.

For this Barbacoa event, San Telmo will be cooking an entire cow, Argentinian style at Mandala. The different cuts of beef will be paired with Mandala’s wines. When purchasing tickets you can choose between a full service including lunch and drinks or a picnic style meal with wines from cellar door. Enjoy live music during the event.

Bight to Bay celebrates Victoria’s seafood and the similarities between Mexico and Victoria which are both known as dream destinations for seafood lovers. The chefs from Mamasita show how they prepare the fresh seafood from Victoria’s waters including the Great Australian Bight to Port Phillip Bay and prepare them using Mexican style, flavours, and techniques.

Dandenong World Fare

Dandenong World Fare Photo Credit: MelbourneFoodandWine.com.au

Dandenong World Fare Photo Credit: MelbourneFoodandWine.com.au
The Dandenong World Fare is a free event that takes place during the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival. It will be at the Dandenong Market on Sunday 13, March. The Dandenong Market turns into an outdoor pop-up food bazaar. The fare showcases the region’s multicultural cuisine, street food, and exotic tastes. There will be cooking demonstrations, live music, and over 200 market stalls. It is the best place to discover new foods, fresh foods, and healthy eating choices. There will be fun for kids too in the form of face painting and craft workshops.